What happens when a girl from Hank McCoy's past appears? A girl Hank used to live next door to, and has kept in touch with, comes to the Institute for a party. When some of her dark secrets are revealed when she falls into a coma, Xavier and Hank decide that keeping her with them is the best idea. But not everyone agrees. Is Jean just jealous of the new girl getting more of Scott's attention than her, or is this girl not what she seems? And why does Lance seem to know her? Contains slight (okay, probably more than slight) ScottxJean, KittyxLance, and EvanxOC. Love ya'll!

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or any of the characters except Sierra McCaulough, and anyone else I decide to make up. Yeah, I don't own Tinker Bell either (just covering my bases here).


Hank McCoy stood inside the train station, looking around. He had never realized how many people came and went from Bayville every day. How was he supposed to find Sierra McCaulough, a girl that he hadn't seen in years, when he didn't even look like himself?
"Mr. McCoy?" a soft voice said behind him. Hank turned to see a figure in black skinny jeans and a black hoodie, with the hood pulled up and their head bowed, so you couldn't see their face.
"Yes. Ms. McCaulough?" Hank bent to see her better, his "blond" hair falling in his face. The Professor had programmed an image inducer for him, and Hank had always wanted to be blond. The figure in front of him sharply jerked her head, in what Hank realized was a nod. The girl had only a ratty backpack with her as baggage. "It's been too long, my friend," the burly man said, patting her back. He didn't seem to realize his own strength, because she went pitching forward, onto her knees. "Sierra, are you okay?" Hank asked in concern.
"I'm fine Hank. Now, let's get to that famous Institute of yours." With that, the girl stood, picked up her backpack, and walked out, holding the worn bag by the handle on top. If Hank thought it odd, he didn't say anything as he followed her to the car.

The party was in full swing by the time Hank and Sierra got to the Institute. The Professor had thought it best that students be allowed to remain on campus for the summer, instead of being sent home (if they had a home; otherwise they could stay year-round anyway). So, to appease the parents of the children staying for the summer, and bring back the students that had left for a little bit, Xavier had decided to host a huge 4th of July barbecue, and invited all the parents and students. The students looking at coming in for the fall semester were invited with their parents too, to get a look around campus and meet everyone before any final decisions were made. Hank had invited Sierra, knowing her adoptive parents wouldn't care if she came, and wanting her to see what kind of a place it was for mutants, where they could be themselves with no fear. Because of the long drive for most parents, many had showed up the day before, and early that morning. So when Hank and Sierra pulled up, the first thing that came to the mutants' ears was the sound of something hitting something else, and a huge splash coming from around back.
"Come, let's go make sure no one was injured too severely," Hank said with a wry smile to Sierra. The pair walked around the building just in time to get sprayed with a second splash. Ray was already in the pool, and now Kitty was too, looking ready to murder someone.
"Do you know, like, how long my hair took to do?" she wailed to no one in particular, while off to the side Kurt and Evan subtly bumped fists. Logan watched over it all from his place at the grill, seeming to keep track of a thousand things at once. Sierra scanned the scene with interest, but quickly lost it. No one here looked...different. They all looked like regular, normal human beings. How stupid could she have been, to think that she'd fit in here?
"-And that's Logan over by the grill," Hank said, shaking her from her thoughts. "You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?" The man looked down at the girl, who still refused to show her face. He understood that she had undergone some physical transformations since he had last seen her, but she was unwilling to describe to exactly what extent. A small laugh came from under the black hood.
"Logan's over by the grill," Sierra said, in her soft, melodic voice. Hank sighed and started again. This time Sierra paid slightly more attention. She scanned the grounds again, looking for anyone who was like her. She didn't know that Kurt had an image inducer on, or Hank. In their letters, Hank had conveniently "forgotten" to mention his own transformation, and never really described any of the students. And Sierra was used to people with...rapidly fluctuating looks, so his "blond" didn't really disturb her. After all, it had been almost eight years since she'd seen Hank McCoy face-to-face. She noticed with little interest that the two who had been in the pool had climbed out, and were now dripping wet and chasing a group of boys around.
"So, what do you think?" Hank said after a moment of silence.
"None of them are like me," was Sierra's only answer. She walked over to the picnic table next to the grill where Logan worked, brooding over a collection of hotdogs and hamburgers. Plunking herself down, Sierra picked up the open beer on the end of the table.
"What do you think yer doin', that's my beer," her growled.
"Oh, how nice of you to share," Sierra said, taking a long swig. She set the beer back in exactly the same spot, and didn't touch it again. For some reason, Logan didn't want to hurt her for drinking his beer. Sierra turned to the yard, watching the people there. Hank had gone back to mingle with the parents, students, and future students. A woman he had called Storm talked with the parents too, only the occasional flicker of lightning from her fingers making it apparent that she was faculty here. A bald man in a wheelchair sat in a small gazebo next to the pool, conversing with some of the parents. Professor Charles Xavier, according to Hank. As if sensing her looking at him, the man looked over and gave her a small smile, then turned back to the people around him.
"Hi, I'm Jean Grey, and this is Scott," a voice said behind Sierra. She turned to face the speaker. A red-headed girl stood next to a tall guy with brown hair and dark red shades. "We're old students here, and we just thought we'd come over to say hey," the red-head spoke up again.
"That's real nice. You've said hi," Sierra said, turning back around.
"So...um...we were wondering if you'd want to come play some ball with us?" a masculine voice spoke up. Sierra looked at where the boy, Scott, was pointing, at a group of kids holding various articles of baseball equipment. A boy with light brown skin and blond hair smiled and waved, then motioned her over. Sierra quickly dropped her head before the boy could get a look at her face, and hunched her shoulders.
"Nah, thanks. I'm fine," she responded. The two behind her just stood there for a second, before the boy, Scott, spoke up again.
"All powers allowed," he said coaxed. Sierra sat, as if contemplating it for a second.
"Nope." The pair stood there for a second longer before walking away, the girl muttering something about the 'rude guest.' Trust me, Red, Sierra thought, You don't want me playing ball with you.
"Are you alright? You've been sitting here since you arrived," a concerned voice said from across the picnic table. Sierra looked up just enough to see the woman who had been mingling earlier, Storm, sitting across from her. She heard Logan make an annoyed sound as more people invaded his personal bubble, but the woman ignored him.
"I'm fine ma'am. Thanks for the worry though," Sierra said in her most sincere voice. The woman made a dubious noise, but left, like Sierra had wanted. She turned her attention to the ball game going on off to the side, watching as a blond girl pitched an explosive sphere, that looked to be made of light, instead of the ball, which exploded when the batter struck. The pitcher laughed, and the batter picked up a ball from the side, covered it in a thin layer of ice, then hit it straight at the pitcher. The red-head, Jean, seeing what was coming at her teammate, who wasn't paying attention and was still laughing, quickly extended her hand and the ball flew off course, hitting a boy with long-ish black hair.
"Hey!" the boy yelled, disappearing and reappearing with a puff of smoke five feet above first base, across the field. Sierra heard a deep chuckle from Logan as the boy fell to the ground. "Vat vas zat about?" the boy asked, rubbing his backside as he stood and looked over at Jean, who was trying not to laugh.
"Don't surprise the elf, he might hurt himself or someone else," Logan said, flipping another burger. Sierra's heightened senses could smell the sulfur and brimstone from where she was sitting, and she assumed it was from the disappearing/reappearing trick. Either that, or someone needed to lay off the baked beans. Big time. The next batter stepped up, the boy that had motioned her over earlier. A new pitcher was up too, Scott. The new batter sprouted what looked to be a stone spike from his forearm and pulled it the rest of the way out, the end tipped with small spikes sticking out. Scott pitched and the batter hit, but the ball stuck to the spikes on the end of the "bat." The boy took off, emptying bases, four home runs. All before the other team could get the ball off the bat.
"Mercy rule!" someone shouted, and the team that had just lost groaned. Logan just laughed, and went back to his grill. As the sun began set, Sierra snagged a burger and ate it without a bun or anything else, just the plain meat patty. Her stomach grumbled in protest at food after so long, but she just hunched tighter into a ball and ignored it, like she had ignored the hunger pains for the last several days.

Hank had watched Sierra all afternoon, and was worried. She hadn't said more than ten words to anyone, no matter how many people he sent over there. He had even resorted to send some of the mothers over, but they had left as quickly as the rest, understanding looks on their face. Whatever she had said, they knew it was best to leave her alone. So why couldn't Hank just accept that she was tired or having "girl problems" or whatever, and let it go?
I believe, friend, that what you are feeling is natural for someone who has the relationship with her that you do, a voice said into Hank's head. He looked over to find the Professor looking back at him. Perhaps you can help her?
You may be right, friend, Hank mentally sighed. Finally, he went over himself.
"What's wrong, Sierra? You have barely spoken to anyone all afternoon," he said, sitting down on the bench next to her. He hadn't taken off the image inducer yet, no need to needlessly frighten new students and parents with a sudden transformation, which was what he had told Kurt too. When the Professor introduced them, they would have time then. Everyone else looked fairly normal, when they had their powers off.
"I don't belong here Hank," she said softly beside him. Hank knew Logan could hear every word crystal clear from where he was standing, but he also knew the man had enough common sense to not intervene. Logan had also been thoughtful enough to not bring his claws out all day, which was quite a display of control for the man.
"I thought that too, at first. But the Professor, and everyone else here managed to convince me that I do." Hank looked at the girl, hearing an odd rustling underneath her hoodie.
"You don't get it Hank. No one here is like me. They're all...normal. At least as normal as mutants can get. I'm a freak, even among freaks." Sierra ignored the sharp pain in her shoulder blades, and stood. "I'm going for a walk." Hank stared after her, torn between letting her go, which he had learned was sometimes best for teenagers, and running after her, which he knew she hadn't had enough of in her life. She had made it to the other end of the pool, now empty, before Hank made up his mind. He loped after her, catching up to her in a few of her steps.
"Sierra, wait!" he said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. She cried out and sank to her knees, trying to hold her back where he had touched her. "What's wrong? What happened?" he questioned. As the official medic, Hank knew something had to be very wrong with the way she was holding herself.
"What's wrong?" something inside Sierra snapped. She stood, and turned to face Hank. "What's wrong?! What's wrong, is that I'm a mutant. And worse than that, I'm an orphaned mutant freak!" she screamed, getting the attention of the parents and a few students, very quickly. "What's wrong is that I look like this!" With that, Sierra tore off her hoodie, revealing her tank top and skin underneath. Even the mutants that were used to Kurt and Hank's appearance gasped as they all saw her for the first time. Her skin was silver, and sparkled, especially in the setting sun. What shocked them though was her face. Her short black hair was spiked back with bangs on each side, like Tink's sister in Tinker Bell: The Secret of the Wings {Yes, I've seen that movie. Calm down.}. Her eyes were cat's eyes, sparkling blue to match the blue-ish tint to her silver skin. Her lips were blue like her eyes, and her ears were pointed. But what was really different about her face was her nose. Her nose...wasn't. Where she should have nostrils, there was only two small, vertical slits in her face, and there was no protrusion for the rest of her nose. "You see? Even they're afraid of me. Oh, and it gets better. Remember the little bumps I had on my back when you lived next door to me, Hank?" Sierra asked, still only speaking to the man in front of her. "You want to see them now?" Without waiting for his answer, Sierra bit her lip, revealing fang-like canines, and something moved behind her. From behind her rose two objects, glimmering in the faint moonlight and dying sunlight. It took Hank a second to recognize them as she kept raising them up, until the were in position. They were wings. Hank walked around her, and gasped. The wings were made of a transparent membrane stretched between the muscles that formed the outside stretched teardrop shape {Think the top part of Tinker Bell's wings}, and webbed with veins, making small panes inside her wings. And there wasn't a pane that wasn't ripped or torn, infection obvious on most. Hank reached out to touch her wings, but she pulled away and turned quickly, wincing as her wings caught the air and pulled against her back. "You see? I can't even be a freak right." A commotion off to the side caught Hank's attention, and he turned in time to see Evan chasing Rahne across the lawn, his skateboard in her mouth. Most of the kids who had been playing baseball hadn't heard the yelling over their own noise, and neither Rahne nor Evan were looking where they were going. Thankfully, Rahne was in her quadruped form when she hit Sierra, causing her to only stumble backwards, and flap her wings for balance. The pixie-girl cried out as her wings moved and air flowed across them. Evan, hearing the cry, looked up, but it was too late. He crashed into her, sending her splashing into the pool. The pain of impact knocked Sierra unconscious. She sank to the bottom, her air leaving a trail of bubbles to the surface.


So, what do you guys think? This is my first fanfic, so I don't expect it to be too good. I got the idea for the 4th of July party from lychee loving, in his/her story Utter Chaos, or Something Like It (and basically stole his/her entire setting for it). I bet all you guys thought that the girl was an old love interest from Hank's past, didn't you? And to all you sickos out there who think like I do sometimes, no, they didn't hookup, he isn't a pedophile, don't worry. All in due time. I didn't set this after a specific episode, and it's not really following the story line, so if I say something that contradicts an episode in this story, I'm sorry. I'm also sorry if I mess up a character, I'm not too good at this; and yes, I know Logan was very un-Logan-like about the beer thing, but trust me, you'll find out about that in due time, too. I can't promise "I'll have a new chapter every week!" but I'll try to update as much as possible. Please review, flames welcome! Just please, constructive criticism flames. Oh, and I have no clue how long this story will get, so stick with me on this, pweeze? Tank yoo! :P